


We'll always have the foodcourt

by Wherethereissmoak



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Mall, Alternative Universe - bookstore, F/M, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-13 00:10:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9096628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wherethereissmoak/pseuds/Wherethereissmoak
Summary: Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak are both employees at different stores in the Starling City mall. They fall in love over meals from the food court.





	1. The pretzel stand

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know what this is, lol. This was inspired by a writing prompt during NaNoWriMo and kind of took a life of it's own. It's my first attempt at a complete AU for Olicity, no vigilante business at all. Also loosely based on my experience as a mall employee. :) I hope you enjoy.

Felicity slammed her head down on the counter. She could not take much more of this boredom. Running a small bookstore in the mall was never that exciting – but in the morning on a weekday it was especially slow.

Aside from the few power walkers that stopped in to browse…they didn’t really have too much business each day until most people got out of work in the evening. Still, it was part of the mall’s rules that if the building was open for business, all the stores within it would be too.

As manager, Felicity was required to cover the most hours…but what made today worse is that her lunchtime relief had called out today, citing the need to study for exams. The perils of being located in a college town. Tons of students who were willing to work very few hours just so they could tell their parents they had a job and so they could get the employee discount on books, but not a lot of availability.

So here she was…eleven in the morning, already bored, already starving…and no one to cover the store until 5 p.m. She considered shutting down the store for a few minutes and running down to the food court, but with her luck someone from the corporate office would call when she was away and she would get fired.

So, she sat here and waited. She tried to keep busy. She had shelved all of the books that came in on the delivery today. She had called the special orders to let them know their books arrived. She had cleaned out and organized the magazine section. She had straightened every book on every shelf in the store.  It looked immaculate. And the day wasn’t even half over yet.

“Bored?” She heard someone ask and she lifted her head. God knows, the one moment she chose not to pay attention someone had wandered into her store. She just hoped he wasn’t a mystery shopper come to evaluate her customer service skills. She would already have points docked against her.

Thankfully, the person in question seemed to be another mall employee. A very handsome mall employee. His piercing blue eyes were the first thing she noticed, and those broad shoulders. Damn.

He quirked his eyebrow at her and she knew she had been caught staring. She could feel her face burn a beet red.

“Can I help you?” she asked, trying to recover as quickly as possible.

“I was just asking if you were bored,” he said in probably the sexiest low voice she had ever heard. “It is totally dead out at my booth, and I have nothing to do but play on my phone. One can only take so much Candy Crush in one day. At least you have a ton of books and magazines in here.”

“Where do you work?” she finally managed to ask.

“Out at the phone accessory stand just down the way. I have a perfect view into this store from my stool,” he said. “And I’ve been noticing you running around all morning fixing this and that…in a rush to do stuff and never stopping to enjoy the books. And you look like the type that enjoys books.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, the glasses, the clothes…”

“What’s wrong with my clothes?”

He threw up his hands in surrender as she started to use her loud voice on him.

“Hey nothing! It’s just most of the women who work in this mall dress to the nines to make their sales,” he said. “You’re different. Not bad…just different. You guys all seem more relaxed over here.”

“Um, thanks…I guess.”

“I’m Oliver, by the way. I don’t just work at the stand…I co-own it with my buddy Tommy,” he said. “We’re trying to prove to our fathers that we are responsible and can run a business.”

Felicity blinked at him, surprised he was sharing so much in their first conversation ever. 

“And how’s that working out for you,” she asked.

“Well, I partied too hard last night and would rather have slept in than open the kiosk this morning, but I’m here…so maybe it’s working?”

“Good for you. Have you eaten? Since your…er…shenanegans last night?”

“Ugh, no…I haven’t even thought of food without getting a little queasy,” Oliver said.

“You should try something really bready, like a pretzel from the pretzel stand,” she said. “That might soak up the leftover alcohol in your system and make you feel better.”

“Ooooh a pretzel sounds good…you want one?”

“Oh God, yes. I get no lunch break today,” Felicity replied.

“I will make you a deal. I will run and get us each a pretzel if you will watch my stand and if by some miracle someone stops by, you holler to them that I will be back in a few,” Oliver said.

“Deal,” she agreed. “Let me get some money from my purse in the backroom for you.”

“Nope, it’s on me…but I have one more condition,” he said. “You have to tell me your name.”

“Um, I’ve been wearing a nametag this whole time,” she said.

“It’s backwards,” he grinned.

“Oh Frak! I totally would fail a mystery shop today,” she said.

“Mystery shop?”

“You don’t want to know,” she replied. “It’s Felicity, by the way, Felicity Smoak.”

 “It’s very nice to meet you, Felicity. I will be back shortly with food.”

“Bless you!” she called as he left the store.

She took a moment to straighten her outfit and run her fingers through her hair. Felicity knew that someone as good looking as Oliver wouldn’t really be interested in flirting with someone like her, but she couldn’t help that primping was her automatic response to his hotness. She was surprised he even came in here to talk to her. The kiosk employees generally spent time hanging out at other kiosks talking to others with the same type of job. The owners typically hired gorgeous people to work those stands because they relied on them to grab a passerby’s attention.

She would never have been hired at one of those locations. She tugged at her blonde locks. She looked different now than when she was goth a few months ago. She had done a dramatic change when her boyfriend, Cooper, had dumped her and the corporate office for her bookstore had hinted that she could be bumped from assistant manager to manager if she looked more professional. She was not normally one to cave to “the man,” but after hacking in her freetime with Coop had gotten them in serious trouble, she decided to play it safe for a while. Besides, she was starting to feel more like herself in her current style. 

Oliver walked back into the store not only with pretzels, but he was masterfully balancing drinks and pretzel dips. One small container had nacho cheese and the other mustard.

“I got you a lemonade because I figured…who doesn’t like lemonade?” he said as he deposited all the stuff on her counter.

He handed her a pretzel and she dove right into it, making him laugh.

“Hungry much?”

“Starving.”

As she bit again into the warm, soft pretzel, she moaned a little. Oliver just stared at her mouth with somewhat of a pained look on his face.

“There is absolutely nothing as delicious as a mall soft pretzel,” she said, closing her eyes and savoring the flavor. “It’s like they put something addictive in them to get us to keep coming back for more.”

“They do,” Oliver said. “It’s called salt.”

She grinned at him and they finished the rest of their snack in silence. As she was cleaning up their trash, he popped his head out of the store to check on his kiosk.

“Still dead, what a surprise,” he said.

“It will pick up later today.”

“Yeah, but then it will be Tommy’s turn.”

He perused her magazine rack for a few minutes.

“You never told me why it is that you guys are not always reading a book behind the counter over here,” he said.

“Oh, that’s from corporate. We are not allowed to do anything to divert our attention if a mystery shopper were to enter the store. One of the questions on their survey is how many seconds it took for someone to greet you upon entering,” she explained.

Oliver looked shocked. “So even on a slow day like today, you still have to just sit here and stare at the entrance?”

“Just about…well not sit…stand. Stools aren’t allowed behind the counter either,” she said. “We are supposed to always look busy…even when we’re not.”

“God that totally sucks. Now I’m glad that I own my kiosk and don’t have any corporate rules,” he said. “I thought the mall rules were bad.”

“You get used to it…after a while. Besides, I get a good discount on books.”

He came back with a men’s fitness magazine.

“I guess I’ll buy this to beat away at the boredom,” he said as she started to ring him up. He reached to pull out his wallet, but she shook her head at him.

“Oh no, you got the pretzel…this one’s on me.”

He shook his head back at her.

“No, thank you.”

“No, thank you? What do you mean, no thank you? If I don’t want your money, I don’t have to take it!” Felicity said.

“Well, if you were to buy me this magazine in exchange for the pretzel, it would mean that this wasn’t a date.”

She tilted her head to the side. She tried to ignore her heart starting to race, and hoped he ignored the redness in her face.

“This wasn’t a date, we’re working,” she stammered.

“Let’s see. Two people, alone for a period of time with no interruptions? Check. Food? Check. Interesting conversation? Check. Beautiful girl? Check. Yep, Ms. Bookstore, we are definitely on a date,” he said with a grin.

“You forgot one thing – for the person to actually be asked on said date.”

“Well, I did ask if you wanted a pretzel. But next time, I will make sure you know what I’m really asking.”

Felicity froze at that.

“Next time?”

“Definitely gonna be a next time,” he said as he gave a smile and a wink completely loaded with charm. “See you around, Bookstore.”

With one final look at her, he dropped a few dollars on the counter for his magazine and hurried back to his kiosk, where a customer had actually shown up.

“What just happened?” Felicity asked her empty store. She had no clue, but she would probably never look at a mall pretzel the same way again.

Not only are they addicting, they apparently do strange things like make the hottest guy in the mall flirt with you. She sighed, took a sip of her lemonade, and went about her business of trying to look busy.


	2. Join me for a slice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date 2 - over pizza...and inventory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to any other retail peeps who have had to endure an inventory. Truly the worst!

It was about an hour before closing when they showed up. Felicity knew they were coming, but it still looked ominous to see a crew of grey-shirted employees with scanners walk into the store.

It was time for her annual inventory. She would sit and monitor the crew from an outsourced company as they scanned and counted every single item in the store. Then corporate office would compare what the computer said they should have with what was actually on the shelves. The lower the difference, the better. Felicity had always rocked her scores, and this year would be no different. She had more to prove now that she was the manager of the store, not just an assistant.

Still, it meant she would be here all night to supervise. She had stocked the mini fridge with Red Bull and she had called down to the pizza place in the food court to bring down their leftover pizza at closing for her and the few of her employees who had volunteered to take the overnight shift.

 She heard a knock on her front gate, and she hurried to let the person in, thinking it was one of the inventory staff arriving late. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Oliver standing on the other side, loaded down with pizza boxes.

“Oliver! What are you doing here?”

“I was walking by the food court and I overheard that this big stash of pies was for you,” he grinned. “So I told the guys I would bring it to you.”

“Aw, that’s sweet of you!”

“Really, I’m just hoping you’ll share.”

She laughed and lifted the gate to let him in.

“Come on in…just don’t get in the scanners' way,” she said.

He arranged the pizzas on the back counter while she went in the employee break room to grab plates and utensils. They let the employees dig in first before they each took a slice and sat cross-legged on the floor it Sci-Fi/Fantasy section.

Oliver watched the inventory workers scan everything one by one.

“God this is tedious. I’ve never been more grateful to own a tiny kiosk in my life,” he said.

“It’s not so bad. It’s only once a year, and it’s a break from the normal routine. Plus, it’s a chance to show off how awesome I am when the numbers come back.”

“Awesome, remarkable, beautiful…all of the above,” he said and she blushed.

“You’re really good at that,” she said

“What?”

“Flirting. You’ve got this charming guy thing that I’m guessing does wonders for your sales,” she said.

“You’d be surprised.”

“Oh? You don’t have women flocking to your kiosk?”

“Sometimes, but mostly for Tommy. I’m not as on point with my flirting game in the past year or so.”

“You seem to be doing fine with me.”

“Oh I am, am I?” He grinned and raised his eyebrows suggestively, making her laugh again. “Does this mean we can count this as our second date?”

“Well, technically, I am buying you dinner, so I guess,” she said, a little surprised at the hopeful look that he gave her after that.

“Does this mean I get to kiss you before I leave?” he asked.

Felicity couldn’t help but stare at him in shock. She had thought his flirting was just playful banter up until this point. Could he really be serious? No. Someone like him never was into someone like her. She decided to keep up with the humor.

“I’m more of a fourth date kissing kind of girl,” she said, laughing. Something flashed in his eyes that she almost missed, but it was replaced with a mischievous glint. He reached over and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers. She stared at their joined hands for a minute.

“I will keep that in mind. Also, you may have now guessed I’m a hold hands on a second date kind of guy,” he said.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, and Felicity tried hard to ignore the heat that was generated by their joined hands. The moment was broken when an inventory crew member came up to them with a question about an item that wouldn’t scan.

Felicity’s heart sunk against her will when their hands separated and she had to go about her work. Oliver cleaned up their plates, and hung back by the counter, waiting for her to finish resolving the problem. She wondered why he was hanging here – didn’t he have anything better to do with his time than spend it in a bookstore late at night?

She asked him as much when she walked up to him again – the late night hours breaking down the cork she usually had on her brain to mouth filter.

“I’m trying to prove to my dad that I can run my business successfully. That I can be responsible,” he said. “When I came in hungover the other day, that was the old Ollie, the man I didn’t want to be anymore. I almost didn’t make it to open up that day.”

“But you did, that’s what counts,” Felicity said, grabbing his hand out of instinct, and he once again intertwined them. “That’s the first step. Old you probably would have just blown it off, am I right?”

He nodded.

“After the other day, I decided the best way for me to change is to start avoiding situations like that where I could be vulnerable to making the right decisions. I need to stay away from my friends who party all the time so I can figure out who I am without all that stuff,” he said. “I’ve been hanging out with my little sister a few nights this week, but she had a date tonight. So I thought I would visit you instead.”

She smiled at him.

“Isn’t Tommy your partner? Is he still partying too?”

“Yes and no. He still goes out, but not as often as before. And he usually is the one who closes, so he can sleep in most days.”

“Well, that kind of sucks for you.”

“Well, that was one of things my dad complained about the most with me, that I was sleeping half the day away. So part of this is to show him that I can actually get up in the morning and do something productive. For multiple days in a row.”

Felicity could see that the bookstore employees who were helping out with inventory questions were also keeping an eye on her and Oliver. They were a small team, so they were all more like family. And she knew that they would be bombarding her with questions as soon as the man left. Some of the girls were openly ogling Oliver.

It was hard to blame them. He was leaning against the counter. His bent arm was showing off muscles that should not even be legal. His bright blue eyes sparkled as he was telling a funny story about a time he and Tommy had gotten lost on the way home from a night club. His hair was cut much shorter than when he had first come in. It was not a very grabbable length for making out and sex…oh Frak. Why was she thinking these things? It was his damn stubble on his face. It made her think irresistible things.

It was no wonder that he was in the tabloids weekly with a different girl on his arm. He probably just had to smile at them and show off those dimples and they all turned to putty.

“Except with you,” he suddenly said. “You don’t turn to putty. I smiled and everything.”

She gasped and looked up at him in horror.

“How much of that did I say out loud?”

“Just the bit about the new girl each week on my arm…why was there more?”

She glared at him and shook her head, blushing. He had the decency to try to look like he wasn’t holding in a smile, even if the corners of his mouth kept fighting their way upward. And then suddenly, he was serious.

“I don’t anymore, you know.”

“Don’t what?”

“Have a new girl on my arm each week.”

“Uh, good. I mean not good – if that’s what you want and your job is keeping you from it.” God, couldn’t she sound like less of a dork…ever?

“One, you are not a dork,” he said, and Felicity slammed her head down on the counter when she realized she had thought out loud again. He just laughed at her.

“Two…it is good. I don’t want a new girl on my arm each week. I want the same girl.”

“Oh…so you got back together with your girlfriend Laurel?”

He narrowed his eyes at her.

“How do you know about Laurel?”

“Well, after you came in here earlier this week, it took me a couple of hours to figure out who you really were…the famous Oliver Queen. So I…uh…googled you. And I read a lot about how you were on and off again with Laurel Lance. Gorgeous Laurel, the magazines call her.”

Oliver just shook his head and sighed.

“No, Laurel and I are definitely off. For good.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not…because my best friend is hopelessly in love with her and I’m just waiting for him to get the courage together to ask her out.”

Oliver suddenly looked very nervous.

“So…do you feel any differently about me now that you know who I am?”

“No, in fact, I think it’s totally awesome what you’re doing…trying to prove yourself and all,” she said. “You don’t see that a lot with people from a wealthier background.”

“Much to our parent’s chagrin, I guess,” Oliver said. “My dad spent the better part of my teenage years being disappointed in me. And also my college years too, I guess, since I kept dropping out of them.”

Felicity started to respond, but another inventory question came up, followed by another. She sent Oliver an apologetic look and he just shrugged and smiled at her. She could feel his gaze on her as she was working, and she tried her best to concentrate on the issues at hand.

When she finally made her way back over to him, she saw that his eyes were starting to get droopy.

“Tired?” she asked with a laugh. “I’m just getting started for the night!”

“Yeah, I should probably go and let you concentrate on work so you can get out of here before the sun comes up or the mall opens again.”

Oliver looked at his feet for a minute. Finally, he reached out and grabbed her hand again.

“So I’m assuming you’re not working tomorrow?”

“Heck no! After as much sleep as I can get, I have a date with Dr. Who and my fuzzy pajama pants!”

He laughed.

“Well, if you are working Thursday, do you want to grab lunch together at the food court?”

“Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Queen?”

“Hmmm…maybe. Are you a hug on the third date kind of girl?”

“I think that could be arranged.”

“Well, then, it’s definitely a date.”

Felicity smiled at that. She knew that their little mall bubble was not the real world and she would probably never see Oliver outside the sliding automatic doors, but she was enjoying spending time with him. If he wanted to joke about food court visits being a date, well then so be it.

They walked hand in hand to the front of the store and she finally let go of him to unlock the gate far enough that he could squeeze out.

“Have a great inventory Felicity. I know it will show your corporate office what anyone who meets you already knows – that you are remarkable.”

He reached up and caressed her cheek with one of his hands, but was gone before she could even react.

“Thank you for remarking on it,” she said to the empty mall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Drop me a comment to let me know what you think.


	3. My big fat Greek food date...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity finally have their food court date, and Tommy gets to meet the girl who has been occupying his best friend's time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Some Tommy in this chapter!

True to her word, Felicity spent the next day in her fuzzy jammies watching her favorite time traveler jaunt around time and space in his blue police box. Still, she felt so tired when she woke up on her next work day. It usually took a week or so to fully recover from an inventory all-nighter.

She pulled her hair back in her traditional pony tail and contemplated laying off the makeup today. Then she remembered she had promised Oliver that she would meet him for lunch and grabbed her favorite shade of pink lipstick.

Felicity walked through the mall about five minutes until her store was supposed to open. Oliver was busy counting the money in his drawer as she passed him, but he looked up and smiled as she walked by. She giggled when she saw that he had lost count because of her.

She hastily counted her own registers to open them and unlocked the gate. Two of her “romance ladies” were waiting on the other side.

“Good morning Michelle. Linda,” she greeted them as they came in. “You’re in luck! My assistant manager just got all the monthly series’ books out last night!”

The women hurried over to the section and she just smiled at them. They were here every month as soon as the books were out, and they usually bought one of each, so 12 to 13 books. And that wasn’t counting the other romance novels they picked up in between. She didn’t understand their obsession, but they were always sweet to her and they drove up her units per transaction, which meant less bookmarks she had to try to convince other people to buy. Corporate had recently mandated they try to sell an average of two items per transaction, which was difficult since most people only came in to buy one book.

The ladies came forward and started stacking their books on the counter, pulling little notebooks out of their purses and checking the titles off of their list.

“When you get to be our age, you have to write the titles of these books down, so you don’t buy the same one twice!” Michelle said. She always teased about her age, but really she was in her late 50s and not as old as she pretended to be.

Felicity rang Linda up first, and she couldn’t help but notice the woman glancing continuously behind her shoulder toward the store’s entrance.

“How do you get any work done with him sitting out there?” she asked in a loud whisper.

“Who?”

“The man at the phone kiosk!”

“Oh, Oliver?”

“Oliver! Michelle, his name is Oliver!”

“Sexy name.”

“It really is!”

Felicity laughed at the ladies as she scanned their books.

“So do you know him?” Michelle asked.

“Well, yes, I guess,” Felicity said, trying not to blush.

“That man is sex on a stick,” Linda said.

“Who is?”

The ladies stared open mouth at the store’s entrance when Oliver walked in. Felicity thought they were going to have a heart attack.

“Um…they were talking about the pretzel stand guy.”

Both women looked gratefully at Felicity for the cover.

“Carl? The one with all the pimples on his face?”

“Yep, that’s the one. Totally hot,” Felicity said with a grin and a wink. Oliver grinned back.

“Sorry to interrupt your discussion of the manliness of Carl, but I just wanted to check to make sure we are still on for lunch?”

“Yep, my lunch relief will be here at 12:30,” Felicity said, blushing. Why did she blush so much for goodness sakes? It was embarrassing. Oliver seemed to like it though. He reached out and tucked a strand that had fallen loose from her ponytail behind her ear.

“Great, I will pick you up then. I got Mike from the slipper kiosk to agree to keep an eye on my shop for a while. Have a great morning. Ladies,” he said to the two older women before exiting the store.

All three of them stared after him for a moment, and slowly her two loyal customers turned to her and narrowed their eyes at her suspiciously.

“Felicity, are you dating that hotness?” Linda asked.

“No…maybe…yes…I guess? I don’t really know. It’s all very strange,” Felicity said.

“Oh my gosh, this is just like a book. The handsome store owner falls for the bookstore clerk,” Michelle practically squealed.

“Excuse me? I’m the manager!”

“Close enough.”

The three women laughed as Felicity finished up their book order.

“So what are his kisses like? I imagine they are amazing. His lips look like lush pillow mountains,” Linda said.

Felicity laughed again.

“I wouldn’t know, I haven’t kissed him yet.”

“You said yet!” Michelle said.

“We better stop teasing her. If she turns any redder, she will probably explode,” Linda said.

“Thanks, ladies. You have a great day,” Felicity manage to say.

“We’ll be back next week for the new Nora Roberts book. And then we want more details!” Michelle said over her shoulder as they left.

Felicity really wished the floor would have swallowed her up whole when they were talking to her. Leave it to the romance novel addicts to see a hot affair between her and Oliver. They were just friends. Friends who occasionally joked about dating. They were just joking…right? Felicity was so confused.

She wasn’t going to lie to herself; her feelings for Oliver had changed. Whenever she saw him walking into her store, her heart started to race. She thought about him when he wasn’t around, and she probably glanced over at his kiosk about once every five minutes. She had a sneaking suspicion he did the same towards her because a few of the times she looked she had caught him staring. When that happened, he had just smiled and winked, then tried to look busy.

The rest of the morning seemed to drag. Finally, her employee, Caitlin, arrived for her two hour shift between classes. It worked out perfectly for both of them. She worked a tiny shift each day and got 40 percent off books, and Felicity got to eat lunch and pee.

Oliver strolled in just on time, and Felicity tried to ignore Cait’s low whistle. Once they were out of the store, he grabbed her hand as they walked slowly to the food court. “I don’t get you for very long, so I want to make the most of our time,” Oliver said.

Felicity smiled and tried to calm the butterflies that were taking up residence in her stomach.

“So what’s your poison? Pizza that took a bath in grease? Unidentifiable Chinese food? Corndog? Whatever that stand is? I never have figured out what kind of food they have.”

Felicity laughed.

“You don’t like the food court much, do you? I suppose in your cushy life you were raised on a very different type of food.”

“Yeah, not really. But I’m getting used to it,” Oliver said.

“How about a gyro?”

“Ah, Greek food, now you’re talking.”

They went and ordered their food, and Oliver insisted on paying.

“Date number three,” he said with a fist pump and Felicity just rolled her eyes at him.

The half hour lunch break seemed to go by quickly, and they spent a good portion of their time talking about all the mall gossip. Felicity informed him that the girl from the calendar stand had hit on the man from the Christmas ornament store and was turned down, and now they spent half their days talking negatively about each other rather loudly. But apparently, the Christmas store guy was hooking up with the girl who pierced ears at the jewelry boutique.

“Working in this mall is like being in a soap opera sometimes,” Felicity said.

Oliver frowned at that.

“Felicity, you know that we’re not like that, right?”

“Like what?”

“We’re not like one of those couples that are just going to hook up and then move on to the next employee,” he said. “You know that’s not how I feel about you.”

“Yeah, I know you don’t really like me like that. You are just flirting for fun.”

“Oh, God, Felicity, no! I do like you like that. Well not like a one night hook up thing, but more of a…I don’t know. I like you. A lot,” Oliver stared at his plate. “God, this was easier in junior high. And that’s saying a lot. I just don’t want to screw things up. Not with you.”

“You like me?”

“Yes.”

“Like, you want to be my…”

“Boyfriend? Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

She stared at him in surprise for a moment. The sounds of the food court faded as they felt like they were the only two people in the world.

“But you’re gorgeous,” she finally said.

“And? So are you!”

“I’m not…I’m just…”

“Beautiful. Stunning. Amazing. Remarkable. Genius. All of the above.”

“Oliver…”

“Felicity, it took me weeks to build up the courage to come into your store and talk to you. You seem to have this weird thing where you think you’re not in my league, but let’s be honest, it’s the other way around,” he said.

She really didn’t know what to say. She had liked him for so long now and never imagined he was feeling the same way. Never had anyone said such kind and wonderful things to her. If her heart wasn’t already gone for him, she would have lost it then. In a way that was very uncharacteristic of her, she leaned across the table to kiss him.

He froze in shock for a moment, but soon was kissing her back. He deepened the kiss and she moaned a little. A clearing of a throat reminded them that they were in the middle of a busy food court.

“Really, Oliver? There are children here!”

Felicity looked up to see a man with dark hair and a charming smile.

“Tommy! I didn’t think you would be here until later!” Oliver said.

“Yeah, well, your sister called me and nagged me for about an hour to relieve you so she could get you to go to the movies with her,” Tommy said. “And imagine my surprise to find that you are not actually at our kiosk, but lip locking over gyros.”

Oliver blushed (Felicity was happy to see it wasn’t her for once) and turned to Felicity.

“Felicity, this is my best friend and business partner, Tommy Merlyn. Tommy…this is my girlfri..this is my…Felicity,” he stammered.

“Oh, this is your Felicity, huh?” Tommy pulled a chair up to their table and sat down. “Felicity, it is very nice to meet you. Oliver has talked about you nonstop for months.”

“Months?” she asked, raising a brow and looking at Oliver. She just laughed at his embarrassment, and shook Tommy’s hand.

She decided that she liked Tommy right away and they would be great friends. He was able to tease Oliver in a way that made him nervous – which is what the man always did to her. Where Oliver was able to joke around, he often carried himself like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Tommy, on the other hand, had a natural carefree attitude. His shoulders were relaxed and his smile was always charming.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Tommy. Oliver tells me that you are too chicken to ask out Laurel Lance,” she said as both guys looked at her in surprise. “What? Sometimes you just need a little push from someone else to get the job done.”

She thought for a moment that Tommy might be mad at Oliver for sharing so much with her, but he just threw his head back and laughed.

“I like her, Ollie. You need to keep her.”

“I plan on it,” Oliver said with a gruff voice, clearly pleased his best friend liked her. Now it was Felicity’s turn to blush.

“Well, it’s been great bonding over gyros with you guys, but I have to get back to my store,” she said as she started to clean their table. Both guys helped her and when they walked back to the store, Oliver grabbed her hand again. Tommy saw their hands combined and raised an eyebrow at his friend, which Oliver just ignored.

“Thank you for that kiss,” Oliver whispered into Felicity’s ear. His breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine.

“You’re welcome. I told you I was a third-date kind of girl,” she said.

"I'm pretty sure you said fourth, but I'll take it," he teased.

When they got back to the bookstore, Oliver gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and promised he would see her the next day before walking over to his kiosk with Tommy.

She walked back to her register like she was floating on a cloud. Had that really just happened? Was Oliver Queen her boyfriend now?

“Felicity,” his voice pulled her back to reality. She turned to see Oliver standing there with his hands in his pockets.

“Miss me already?” she asked with a smirk.

“Always. But I also was wondering if I could get your phone number, so I can call you?” he asked nervously.

It struck Felicity how odd it was that they seemed so close, yet their relationship was primarily confined to the mall. She was grateful that Oliver was trying to overcome that. She grabbed his phone and typed in her information, smiling as she handed it back to him.

“Can I call you later?”

“You better!”

He let out a sigh of relief before giving her a quick peck and leaving. She practically skipped over to the counter, where Caitlin was waiting with a big grin on her face.

“Damn, girl! He’s so hot! Is he your boyfriend?”

“I think so!”

“You only think so?”

“Well, we’ve only ever been on dates that include food from the mall, and haven’t really seen each other out of it,” Felicity said with a frown.

“Well, then that explains it. You’re his mall girlfriend. He probably has a whole other relationship out there in the real world, and you are just something to keep him occupied during the day,” she must have seen Felicity deflate and was quick to try to fix what she said. “Shit, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’m sure he’s into you. I’ve just seen that type of thing before.”

Felicity accepted her apology and sent Cait on to her class, while she stood behind the counter and tried not to get depressed. The kiss she had shared with Oliver had been wonderful, but was there something to what her employee had said? Was she just a dirty little secret to Oliver that would never be part of the rest of his life?

Felicity didn’t know the answer and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. All she knew was that Oliver Queen had awakened feelings in her that she hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. And no matter what, she would forever be thankful for that at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! This is so fluffy. :)
> 
> On a funny note - the romance ladies are real (though their names are changed). When I worked in a bookstore ten years ago, they came in and bought every new romance book each month. They were so sweet and cracked me up! One of the few things I miss about retail - the regulars!


	4. If you give a girl a muffin, she'll want a cup of coffee to go with it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity go on their first real date, and life tries to pop their happy bubble. Thea shows up in this chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year's Day, peeps! I hope everyone had a safe and fun NYE! Today is also my son's birthday, so we are extra tired from staying up late and from him running around like a lunatic before the sun had even risen this morning. ;) 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. Only one to go after this, and the epilogue.

Felicity was finishing up preparing the store’s bank deposit when she heard a knock on her front gate. She looked up to see Oliver standing on the other side with a cup of coffee and a small bag in each hand. She smiled when she saw him, and went to unlock the gate.

“Good morning!”

“Hey there, I have to make a deposit at the bank too before opening and I was wondering if you wanted to go together,” he asked.

“Well, you brought me caffeine, so how can I resist you?”

He smiled and handed her the cup of coffee. She drank it and moaned, causing Oliver’s eyes to fill with heat.

“Best coffee, ever. Thank you so much!”

Felicity grabbed her deposit bag and relocked her front gate once she was outside.

“I’m actually really glad you’re joining me,” she said. “I heard that last week, someone from one of the clothing stores was mugged on the way to the bank.”

“I heard that too. She was walking alone across the parking lot. Just like you do,” Oliver said with a gruff voice.

“Oliver Queen, did you change your deposit schedule just so you could walk me to the bank and make me feel safe?”

“Maybe.”

She could be mad, but honestly, it made her feel cared for in a way that she had never experienced.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

They walked hand in hand toward the bank, and Felicity could hardly keep the happiness from making her step a bit bouncier. All of her worries from yesterday about them only being a mall relationship were fading away. Mostly because, true to his word, Oliver had called her last night. They ended up talking on the phone for hours, only getting off when they had to go to bed.

“So is this our fourth date?” he asked. “I did bring you a muffin.”

“I suppose it is,” she said with a laugh.

“Felicity…will you go to dinner with me?”

“Today? You want to stop by the food court after work?”

“Yes, today. And no to the food court. Like dinner at a real restaurant…not in this mall.”

“You want to see me outside the mall?”

Oliver laughed at that.

“Of course I do! You aren’t still thinking we’re like the jewelry boutique girl and the Christmas store guy, are you?”

She looked sheepish at that.

“Felicity, I want to see you outside of this mall. You have no idea how much.”

She agreed to go on a date with him that night and they agreed on Italian. Throughout the rest of the work day, Oliver found an excuse to pop in the bookstore at least once an hour. She laughed at the ridiculousness of some of the excuses for reasons he suddenly needed to peruse a book. He needed to figure out what would happen if you spilled a latte on your laptop in the computer guide section. He suddenly was worried about what kind of energy drink he was consuming and wanted to check out her reference books to see if the ingredients were bad. He was randomly thinking of taking up archery and wanted to know all about arrows.

“Are you my mystery shopper?” she asked with a laugh when he continued to give her oddball requests.

Their date went off without a hitch that night, she wore her lucky red dress and her heart had nearly exploded out of her chest at the sight of Oliver in a suit. Like seriously, he was wasted on the casual business wardrobe of the mall. 

They talked about so much on their date. Felicity had finally opened up about growing up in Vegas, her father leaving and about how she had to drop out of MIT when she got caught hacking government servers. It was nice that he just listened and didn’t try to solve all her problems.

Oliver shared with her how his father wanted him to take over the family business someday, but he didn’t think that he was capable. He hoped that all the business skills he had learned running the kiosk would help, but Queen Consolidated would be a huge undertaking.

The date had ended with a heavy makeout session on her couch. For Felicity, having Oliver in her apartment was somewhat surreal.

Felicity could tell she was definitely falling for Oliver. That freaked her out because it seemed like it was happening too fast. But the heart wanted what the heart wanted, she supposed. But there was no way she would be confessing those feelings to Oliver in the near future.

Speaking of Oliver, she  the next morning she peeked over at Oliver’s kiosk and smiled to see him arrive. She for once had surprised him by leaving a cup of coffee and a muffin for him. He grinned when he saw them, looked up at her and mouthed “thank you.” He blew her a kiss and then went about getting his kiosk open for the day.

They had another lunch date in the food court, and by now all the mall employees smiled and waved at them as they passed. They were a mall couple. But what made it OK to Felicity was that she spent every evening with Oliver as well.

That night, they made love for the first time. On her bed, then her couch, kitchen counter and shower. It was seriously the best sex she had ever had in her entire life. She didn’t know if it was because Oliver was so incredibly hot and attentive, or if it was because of the intense feelings she had for him.

Probably both.

The next day, Oliver was off work. His dad had invited him to Queen Consolidated for the day to get the lay of the land. Felicity had a sneaking suspicion that he had finally proven himself to his father and was being groomed to become part of the company. In his place at the kiosk was a young girl, probably in her early 20s, with short brown hair.

Felicity didn’t pay her much attention until suddenly she was in her shop, perusing magazines.

“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe Brangelina are over,” the young girl said.

Felicity laughed at that.

“You’re filling in for Oliver today?”

“Yep…you know Ollie?”

Ollie, ugh, she knew that he hated that nickname because it represented his old self. She tried to reserve judgement on the young girl, though, figuring she may not know him enough to be aware of the change. Turns out she knew him better than she imagined.

“I’m Thea, by the way, Ollie’s sister,” she said.

“Oh, uh, it’s nice to meet you! I’m Felicity. I’m Olivers…uh…”

“Oh God, don’t tell me he’s sleeping with you? He’s probably sleeping with half of this mall’s employee’s knowing my brother,” Thea said with a frown.

“It’s not like that. I mean…we are sleeping together, but he’s not sleeping with anyone else in this mall. We’re together. Like together, together.”

“Oh honey, I hate to break it to you, but my brother is not the type to be together, together with anyone. That ship has sailed.”

“No, it’s true. We are.”

“Well, then why haven’t I heard of you?”

“Uh…that I don’t know. We are kind of new, I guess, so maybe he hasn’t had time to tell you yet,” Felicity said.

Thea gave her a skeptical look and just shrugged her shoulders. It irked Felicity that she didn’t have more faith in her brother, but she guessed he hadn’t given her much cause to in the past. A week or so ago, this conversation would send Felicity into a panic about whether or not Oliver was just sleeping with her and going to move on soon, but she really believed that he cared for her and what they had was real.

“But anyway, it’s not my business to prove you’re wrong, it’s Oliver’s, so we will both see who is right in the end,” Felicity said. “Are you going to buy that magazine, or just read it for free in my bookstore. Where we sell reading material in exchange for money.”

Thea tilted her head and studied Felicity for a minute before smiling.

“I like you. I hope I’m wrong. You seem different from other girls he’s dated.”

“Because I am. Different, that is.”

Thea purchased the magazine and stood at the counter and read it, laughing at all the latest Hollywood gossip with Felicity. Finally, she went back to the kiosk and Felicity was impressed at how well she managed her customers and kept the stand organized. Tommy seemed equally impressed when he came in to relieve the young girl.

“Look who I found,” Thea said as she entered the bookstore after her shift. Oliver was right behind her. He smiled at her, but had a strained look around his eyes.

“Oliver…hi! I missed you today. It wasn’t the same not being able to look at you all day,” Felicity said as she leaned up and gave him a kiss.

“Hey! I’m not terrible to look at either!” Thea objected and they all laughed. But Felicity couldn’t help but notice the smile didn’t reach Oliver's eyes.

Thea must have noticed too, because she asked Felicity if she could bring her brother home (or keep him all night, she joked) and she would use his car to drive herself home for the day. After she agreed, Oliver just nodded and went to browse some books while waiting as Felicity handed over the reins to the night shift.

When they got in her car, Felicity had to laugh as he squeezed in her Mini Cooper. His large frame barely fit. He chuckled as well. They headed to her apartment, stopping for some Thai takeout on the way. Oliver stayed silent the entire time.

Finally, Felicity couldn’t take it anymore. She put the food on the kitchen counter and turned to Oliver.

“What the hell is going on, Oliver? You’ve barely said a word to me since you got to the mall today! Did something happen at your dad’s company?”

“My company.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t a tour of the company…it was an ambush. Even though I have absolutely no qualifications, the board had an emergency meeting today and my dad announced his retirement and they appointed me as the new CEO. I do have a co-CEO with Walter Steele. But yeah.”

“What? That’s amazing!”

“Felicity! It is not amazing! I have no experience other than running a cell phone stand.”

“Successfully.”

“Well, yeah, but there is a huge difference between running that and a multi-billion dollar corporation,” Oliver said.

“Did you express these concerns to your father and the board?”

“Yes! They knew that I didn’t have the experience so they appointed Walter as my co-CEO, but they were adamant that a Queen needed to be at the helm,” Oliver said, putting his face in his hands. “Me running the mall business was the thing my dad needed to convince them that I was responsible now.”

“You realize you can say no, right?”

“I could…but you should have seen my dad, Felicity. He was so happy that he could finally retire…I didn’t have it in me to break his heart.”

“So you are just going to change your whole life to make your dad happy?”

To be honest, Felicity thought Oliver would do a wonderful job as a CEO, especially with Walter’s partnership. He was bright, smart and kind and she knew he would be a success once he learned the ropes. But she also didn’t want him to be unhappy.

“No, it’s not changing my whole life. I knew I would get there eventually. It’s just happening sooner than I thought,” Oliver said. “And I just…”

He stopped suddenly.

“Oliver, what is it?”

“I just don’t like that I won’t see you every day anymore.”

Felicity froze at that. She hadn’t really thought about the impact Oliver’s new career would have on her life. He would no longer be in the mall anymore. But that was OK, she would survive and so would he.

“Oliver, you can’t base your life decisions based on working near me. Most couples don’t work in the same location and are totally fine,” she said. “We see each other every night, too, so that will continue.”

“Yeah, but I’m addicted to seeing you all day too,” Oliver said, pulling her to him.

“Me too,” she said. “But we’re going to be OK.”

“How do you know?”

“Because we found each other. Despite our crazy different backgrounds and other differences, fate brought us together."

He gave her a long kiss to agree with her thoughts.

The next few weeks went by very quickly, much to their chagrin. They wanted to spend as much time as they could together before Oliver had to leave the phone kiosk, but with his dad starting to pull him into meetings, he was in the mall less and less. His official transition wasn’t until the end of the month, but the gradual steps toward him becoming part of Queen Consolidated were a fact of daily life.

Tommy had agreed to let Thea buy out Oliver’s shares in the kiosk, and Felicity laughed when she started seeing more pink and designer phone accessories for sale.

When her bookstore chain’s district manager asked if she could take Felicity to lunch, she didn’t think anything odd of it. Her boss liked to check in from time to time since Felicity was new to upper management. She had learned so much from JoAnn over the last year.

Her boss looked sad when they sat down and Felicity’s heart broke over the news. A destination large-format bookstore had signed a deal with the mall to be one of its anchor stores. Part of its contract included a caveat that the mall would not renew the leases of any other bookstores. So in two months, Felicity’s store would be closing.

Felicity was so sad over this news. Her boss had offered her another position in a different town, but she didn’t know if she wanted to take it. Her employees, with the exception of her two full-timers, weren’t too sad because they didn’t work many hours.

The real people that were sad about this news were her customers. They loved the small bookstore experience. They didn’t want to go to a big store where the employees who helped them find things were not the same employees who stacked the shelves. Or the kind of store where the person at the cash register didn’t leave their post to help them, but instead told them to go find a customer service desk. Or a store where the staff would never remember their name.

Oliver held her when she cried that night about the news. This situation, he tried to fix. Offering her a job at Queen Consolidated (she said maybe someday when she had earned it through her education, not because her boyfriend was the CEO).

Felicity only allowed herself to wallow in her grief for one day. The next morning she woke up, washed her face and came up with a game plan. She called up her mom and asked her for a loan from the money her dad had set aside for them when he abandoned them. Her mom had never wanted to touch the money, even when times got tight.

Donna Smoak was reluctant to do so now, but she also wanted to help her baby achieve her dreams. When she told her plan to Oliver, he said he was proud of her. That boost of confidence was all the fix she needed from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Felicity. :( As much as retail is not fun, your store can become your baby. 
> 
> Public Service Announcement: I do want to say that the thing about having to cross the parking lot to the bank with a bag of cash is accurate - at least as of 10 years ago when I worked in the mall. I never, NEVER, felt safe doing it. One clerk at another store was indeed mugged and for a month or so after that, we all went in groups and mall security escorted us. If you are ever in a situation where you feel unsafe in your job, please speak up about it! Sometimes at corporate office, it is easy for them not to think about details like this. Your safety is the most important thing!


	5. Save room for dessert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity says goodbye to her bookstore and Oliver proves to be an amazing boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! Sad and fluffy. There will be an epilogue, which I will post tomorrow. Enjoy!

Felicity packed up the last box and put it in the pile that was going to the bookstore two towns over. Now all she had to do was wait for the delivery truck to pick them up and then bring the front gate keys to the mall’s management, and she would be done with this place.

Many tears had been shed as each of her staff said goodbye. A few of them would be joining her in her next venture, but she could not bring them all since money was tight.

Oliver knocked on the gate as the delivery driver was starting to load his truck. She let him in, and the two stood in silence in the nearly empty store. He seemed to know that she just needed to be still for a while to grieve the store that once was.

She put her hand in his and they watched as box by box, her home away from home was taken away. Finally, she spoke in a near whisper (which kind of felt right since the store had a quiet, creepy feeling to it while empty).

“I know I’m moving on to bigger and better things, but I can’t help but be sad,” Felicity said. “This place meant so much to so many people.”

“I know, hon,” he said quietly, putting his arm around her shoulder. “It’s the end of an era…but the start of a new one.”

“Yeah.”

When the driver was finished, she signed his forms and locked the outside door to the stockroom behind him.

She took one last walkthrough of the store as she and Oliver went to the gate to lock it for the final time.

“Goodbye store,” she whispered as she shut the gate.

“C’mon,” Oliver said, tugging her hand.

“Where are we going? I mean besides me crying my way into the mall office to turn in these keys,” Felicity said.

“We’re going to eat in the food court, for old time’s sake,” he said. She sighed and agreed. They dropped off the store key, and the administration’s assistant was crying when she did. She felt so bad that her bosses had signed the deal to let the big bookstore push the little one out. Felicity gave the girl a hug and promised to come visit from time to time (though she was not sure when she would be in the mall again).

She and Oliver walked hand in hand to the food court.

“I don’t really have much of an appetite,” she said glumly.

“Well, you know I always do. You sit here and I’ll get us some food, or you can just share some of mine if you don’t want any of your own,” Oliver said.

She sat in silence, enjoying the buzz of the mall around her. She was surprised to find that she would miss it. She would miss the gossip. She would miss all the strict rules. She would even miss the janitor who rode a floor cleaner that looked like a Zamboni in the wee hours of the morning.

Oliver was taking a really long time. She looked around for him, and finally saw him coming her way with a tray loaded down with a ton of food and a big box of something underneath.

“There is no way we can eat all of that,” she said with a laugh.

“I know, but I thought since we won’t be here again for a while, it might be nice to have a little sample of everything.”

“Good plan.”

They ate and laughed as they shared some of their favorite memories of working in the mall. Like the time some teenage kid had pulled the fire alarm and Oliver had been all gallant in trying to save Felicity by throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her out of the mall.

Or the time when Felicity had been sure this one teenager was stealing from her, but she couldn’t prove it so she followed him around the mall until he got so nervous and got on a bus out of there.

“I gave him my death look every time he even came close to our store after that so he never dared coming in again,” Felicity said with a laugh.

They savored the food that they would miss, and gagged on the food that they wouldn’t. When they were almost stuffed to the brim, Oliver said that he had a dessert for her and pulled out the box he had brought with the food.

“Ugh…Oliver. I can’t possibly eat another bite, unless you want me to explode,” she groaned.

“Just open it,” he insisted.

Felicity gave him a curious look, but finally reached for the box and opened it. She gasped at what she saw inside. There were cupcakes with letters on them…spelling out “I love you.”

Oliver looked at her sheepishly.

“Cheesy, I know, but I thought it might make the day a little better,” he said with a grin.

Felicity looked at the cupcakes for a minute and then looked up at him. She was quiet for so long that Oliver started to fidget in his seat, clearly worried about her response. Tears started trickling down her face.

“No it’s perfect. I love it,” Felicity said as she leaned forward and grabbed Oliver’s face between her hands. “And I love you too.”

Oliver’s eyes widened before he started to smile again. He leaned in and gave her a passionate kiss in the middle of the food court.

It was a perfect place, after all, because it was over this food that they fell in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Epilogue tomorrow! You get to find out then what's next for Felicity's career then. And more gushy lovey dovey Olicity too. :)


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life after the mall for Oliver and Felicity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is. A short little epilogue! I hope you enjoy. :)

Three months later Felicity was unloading the last of the boxes onto the shelf in the romance section. She couldn’t believe she would be opening her own store tomorrow.

She had used the money from her mother to lease the space and buy enough inventory to start her own bookstore. She was excited and scared all at the same time. Felicity looked over and smiled as Stacey and her two favorite romance customers put the final touches on the displays. Michelle and Linda had been ecstatic when she had told them she was opening her own store. They had volunteered to get everything set up for the grand opening.

“I mean, when you think about it, it’s really going to be my store too,” Michelle said.

“Not me, I’m just here to check out Oliver’s butt,” Linda said with a laugh.

Both ladies were much disappointed that Oliver spent much of his time at his day job at Queen Consolidated. He was doing an amazing job in his position as co-CEO, surprising everyone except Felicity. He gave a lot of credit to her, because she had looked over a lot of the proposals for the Applied Sciences division and helped him narrow down the top candidates for consideration.

But really, she knew that he had it in him. The investors loved his energy and his passion for the future. Walter was showing him how to manage the financial and employee side of things, and projected he would be able to see his own retirement in another few years. His mother was so proud of Oliver that she practically broke her face from beaming at him every time he walked into a room, which of course made Thea roll her eyes.

Oliver’s family had been hesitant about Felicity at first, but they were not blind and noticed how much he loved her and how he had matured since they were together. It hadn’t hurt that Felicity had fixed Robert’s computer and had also fawned over Moira’s collection of rare books. The Queen matriarch donated an original print of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to be in the glass display in the children’s section of Felicity’s new store. Because of this, Felicity had designed the theme of the section around Narnia, complete with a lamp post in the middle of it.

A knock on the glass window of her store pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Oliver standing there, with a box of takeout food.

She let him in, and the ladies launched on the dinner like they hadn’t eaten in months. Felicity, on the other hand, launched herself on Oliver, kissing him like a woman starved.

“Hello, my love, I missed you,” she said.

“I missed you too. I figured that you guys could use some dinner, even if it’s not as high quality as food court food,” Oliver said with a grin.

He took a moment to survey all the work they had done, his eyes filled with wonderment.

“It looks so great in here, hon. I can’t believe you got all of this out of the empty shell you leased only a month ago,” he said.

“Well, you once told me I was remarkable, so I had to live up to that title.”

“You are.”

They exchanged a kiss (to which the other ladies catcalled).

Felicity’s store opened with great success. The old downtown area of Starling had started to rebuild itself into a charming community and her shop fit right in.

A year later, Oliver proposed to her (this time spelled out in small pretzels from the mall).

A year after that, they got married and their wedding was catered by the family that operated the Greek restaurant in the food court.

A year after that, Felicity pushed her baby’s stroller as she power walked through the mall.

She never was out of the loop on mall gossip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read this story and gave it so much love!

**Author's Note:**

> Drop a comment to let me know what you think! I don't know when the next chapter will be posted, but this work is all written, so it shouldn't take too long.


End file.
